The American Dream
by Xfiles fanfics
Summary: Cute Arcadia fanfic by Florimell *people who are upset that im publishing other peoples stories i just want to say i dont mean for anyone to feel upset im a new x files fan and for me it was hard finding x files fanfics so i just wanted one place where i could publish the best, for me and other x file fans, and I know i should contact the author but i dont know how, im sorry.


For a moment she forgot. It was only for a

moment, the blur of a second, but it was enough

to make her blush with embarrassment at her own

foolishness. Enough to make her regret that

she'd ever agreed to take this case. It

happened when they went to see Gene Gogolak

about the basketball net that Mulder wanted in

the driveway. They were sitting so comfortably

on the couch that it began to feel natural;

Mulder's left arm around her back, his right

hand over her upper arm, so that he was hugging

her closely. Without thinking about her action,

Scully had placed her hand over his, stroking it

in an almost imperceptible motion. The keenest

eye would not have been able to detect that they

weren't really married.

That was when she forgot. Sitting there next to

her husband, discussing their home, their

basketball net, Scully felt as if the undercover

life that they had created was actually her

life. She was married, and she was concerned

about the CC&Rs, and she was in love. As

quickly as she had drifted into the delusion was

as quickly as she snapped out of it. Scully

looked down accusingly at the wedding ring she

wore as she removed her hand from Mulder's and

slightly straightened on the couch. It was

already too late; she was shaken. All of the

thoughts and desires that she had repressed from

the moment that she had slipped the wedding ring

onto her finger hit her with full force. She

really wanted this life to be real, only not

here. Somewhere, though, she wanted to live

with Mulder in a home like this, hear him play

basketball in the driveway, and yes, even make

him a sandwich.

Scully tried to stay attentive for the remainder

of their discussion with Gene Gogolak, but it

had become an impossible task. She had begun to

lose Scully, the strong, inscrutable FBI agent,

inside of Laura, a doting, smiling wife, and the

identity crisis was frazzling her nerves. She

knew that she'd been inexplicably cross with

Mulder, but it was the only way to hide from him

that she really did just want to play house.

"Something's up with him, Scully, ah, Laura,

don't you think?"

"Hm?" They were walking home from Gene

Gogolak's, shoulder to shoulder so that they

could talk without being overheard.

"I said, something's up with him. Don't you

think he's a little eccentric?"

Scully nodded vaguely, twirling the wedding ring

on her finger. "Well, I certainly wouldn't

choose him for a neighbor."

"Do you think he might be a suspect?"

Scully sighed. "I don't know, Mulder."

"Weren't you paying attention?" Mulder glanced

down at her. His question was gentle, but

Scully felt its weight. She hadn't been paying

attention and he knew it.

"Yes. Of course I was." Her reply unwillingly

came across as a bitter and annoyed snap.

"Ohhh-kay. Just checking. You seemed kind of,

I don't know, out of it. I figured that you

lost interest in the case or something."

"No, Mulder. I'm here to do this case just like

you are. FBI agents undercover."

"Okay. It's just -"

Scully squinted up at him in the fading

sunlight. " What is it, Mulder?"

Mulder held up a hand in protest. "Nothing.

Just wondering, that's all."

Scully consciously softened her tone.

"Wondering what?"

Mulder bit his lower lip, staring hard at the

ground as they walked. "I know that this isn't

the best case to start off on, and it's not as

if I was thrilled about taking it, but I'm

trying to actually solve this thing anyway. You

may not think so, but I'm trying to fool them.

I just didn't know if I made you feel-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Win stepped

out of his front door and waved to them.

Immediately Mulder's arm laced around Scully's

waist as he raised a hand in reply.

"Nice day for a walk, isn't it?" Win called

out.

"Yeah, great. Just great."

Scully couldn't tell if Mulder's response was

meant to be sarcastic or not. It would've been

a nice day for a walk if they weren't arguing.

She wasn't even sure if they had had an

argument. It had felt that way up until

Mulder's last sentence. As they walked up their

driveway, Scully pondered what Mulder had been

going to ask her. Did he make her feel happy?

Yes. Did he make her feel passionate? Yes.

Fulfilled? Yes, although that could be improved

upon. Beautiful? Yes. Aroused? Certainly.

She flushed at her last thought as they walked

into the house and Mulder's arm dropped from her

waist.

Scully lay in bed regretting a thousand and one

things that she had done that evening. Dinner

with the Shroeders had been tiring and

difficult. Mulder's constant touching and

teasing had rattled her before they had even sat

at the table to eat. By the time supper had

ended, she had rejected even a small hug from

her supposed husband because she couldn't bare

his arms around her, reminding her of what she

was missing out on, one more time. She

regretted that immensely as soon as it was done.

An air kiss didn't make up for her backing away

from his arms, something she would not have done

on any other day, as their own personas.

She also regretted that green facemask. It had

been a sudden decision, prompted by the shirt

Mulder threw past her head when they were in the

bedroom. The glimpse of his muscular chest made

her long for a barrier to construct between

them, and the mask was the first thing she was

able to put her hands on. Although, she

reasoned, without the mask, it would've been

nearly impossible to resist his offer to join

him on the bed.

Scully tossed herself onto her side, yanking the

sheet with her in frustration. What would have

been so wrong with lying next to her partner,

feeling his arms around her? Touching her.

Stroking. Caressing. "Come on, Laura, we're

married now." She cut her own thoughts off

abruptly. This case had been such a mistake.

She needed to put Mulder completely out of her

mind or else she wouldn't sleep at all. She

jerked at the covers again, trying desperately

to not fantasize about the facetious offer he'd

made.

"Scully?" His voice was a hoarse whisper from

the shadows of the doorway. In thinking about

him so intensely, she had not heard him come up

the stairs.

"Yes." She sat up in bed.

"You're awake." It was a statement rather than

a question.

"I know."

"No, I mean, you sound awake." Mulder's

shadowed form took on definition as he stepped

into the bedroom.

"Did you come all the way up here to tell me

that?"

Mulder hesitated. "No-o. I just- Scully, can

I come in?"

"Yeah." She resignedly patted the side of the

bed. "Come on in, Mulder. Tell me about the

case."

Mulder walked over to the bed and sat where she

had indicated, gazing at her dejectedly. "What

makes you think that I want to discuss the

case?"

"Well, I don't know. I guess because that's

all you ever really want to talk about when-"

"You think that's all I ever want to talk

about?"

Scully sighed heavily. She really felt as if it

was all he wanted to talk about sometimes, but

she was too tired to argue with him about it.

She waited for him to leave, expected him to,

but he just sat there, staring at her as if he

were trying to memorize her face. And then he

completely surprised her by leaning over and

pulling her into his arms, wrapping his upper

body around her in a fervent hug. They stayed

like that for many minutes, Scully's head

pressed against Mulder's chest; his arms circled

around her, one hand in her hair, the other at

her waist. They both understood that they were

now reconciled. They often did not apologize

verbally to each other. The unfulfilled desire

and frustration that regularly simmered beneath

the surface of their arguments was always left

unspoken, so it would've seemed trite to offer

words to heal the wounds.

Held tightly in Mulder's arms, Scully felt the

acrimony of the past two days melt away. The

teasing touches and marriage jokes he'd offered

since this case began lost their irksomeness,

and with every beat of his heart against her

ear, became endearing in memory. Her hands met

behind Mulder's back and she felt for the

wedding ring, slipping it off and dropping it

onto the bed. She would find it later, when she

resumed her alias in the morning, but for the

moment she only wanted to be Dana Scully.

Mulder moved first, gently pushing her off of

him and tenderly brushing a strand of hair from

her eyes. Again, she feared that he might

leave, but instead he moved up next to her and

joined her under the bedcovers. Scully laid

down so that her back was to him, sighing softly

with pleasure as he wrapped an arm around her

waist, so differently from the way Rob Petrie

held her, and pulled her against his chest. His

breath was warm against her neck as he spoke.

"I was going to ask you a stupid question

today."

"When was that?" Scully's question was

rhetorical. She knew that he was referring to

their aborted argument after visiting Gene

Gogolek, but she preferred to prompt Mulder

rather than let him know how affected she had

been by their sparring.

"I was going to ask you if I made you feel

uncomfortable, pretending to be your husband,

but that would've been a stupid question,

because I don't make you feel uncomfortable."

"No, you don't Mulder." Scully's voice was

surprisingly steady to her ears.

"I know. It doesn't feel uncomfortable. Or

awkward. It feels right. I feel it, too."

Mulder's hand began to make slow circular

patterns on her abdomen, causing a shiver to

ripple through Scully's body. "And I'm sorry.

I'm so sorry about that, Scully."

Scully's voice was choked. "Sorry for what?"

She placed her hand lightly over his, feeling

his fingers moving gently beneath her own. She

felt for the wedding ring he still wore and

pulled it off of his finger, placing it on the

sheet next to her. Mulder ignored the gesture.

"Sorry that we had to take this case. A case

that has made you have to feel everything that

this job, that I, have denied you. A real

home." His hand strayed absently to the

waistband of her sleep pants. "Neighbors,

friends." His fingertips moved past the

waistband, tracing small patterns onto her skin

"A husband." He eased his hand away from her

lower waist and began to stroke under her ribs.

"A seemingly normal life." Mulder's hand found

the underside of her breast and rested there,

only his thumb still massaging her.

Scully's intake of breath in response to

Mulder's last touch was audible. She rolled

over in his arms so that she was facing him and

began to move her own hands imprecisely over his

chest. "Mulder, you don't have to apologize.

You have denied me nothing." She sighed,

leaning closer to place a kiss onto his neck.

"Mulder, these people, all they want is the

American dream. That's what they're trying to

find here. In this community. At least that's

how it probably started. And there was a time

when I would've thought that the American dream

could actually be found here."

Mulder exhaled shakily as she kissed the

underside of his chin. "But you don't anymore?"

His question was incredulous.

"No. Mulder, my life is with you. I don't need

a big house, or more friends, or strange

neighbors that buy dolphin-safe tuna." They

both laughed a bit uneasily, equally unsure as

to where this night would take them. "I don't

need or want a normal life, because it wouldn't

be with you. And being with you is the American

dream for me, Mulder."

Mulder's eyes clouded as he pressed his body up

against her and leaned his face close to her

own, stroking the side of her cheek with his

thumb. He then answered her statement by

placing his mouth over hers in a kiss. At first

his lips were gentle, testing to see if she

approved. To assure him of her acquiescence,

Scully deepened the kiss, lacing her arms around

his neck to bring his head down closer to her.

When they finally broke apart, they shared a

moment of laughter, borne of guilt and relief.

"You know, Scully, there was a moment today when

I forgot."

"Forgot what?"

"Forgot that we weren't really married. That

we're supposed to be only pretending that we're

in love. You know why?"

"Why?"

"Because you're my American dream, too."


End file.
